Telstra
will pay to bring more analysts from North American and Europe than ever to its annual industry summit next week as chief David Thodey ramps up efforts to become the brand of choice for Western companies doing business in Asia.

The company will next week run its annual industry analyst summit “Let’s Connect 2013", which is a two-day event traditionally designed to help experts from advisory firms including Gartner, IDC and Ovum better understand the company.

It is understood Telstra has invited 50 analysts to the event and brought more analysts from North American and Europe in 2013 than it has in the past. This will be the fourth year the company has run the summit.

“They’ve flown in a number of our government and enterprise analysts this year [from the US and Europe]," one analyst said. “So we’ve now got a pretty big contingent heading along."

Winning over the independent experts is vital for Telstra’s efforts in the US and Europe because large organisations often hire independent industry analysts to recommend technology suppliers when doing business in a new country or region.

While visiting Australia the analysts will stay at the five-star Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney and dine at the country’s number one restaurant, Quay, which overlooks the Opera House.

A spokesman for Telstra said the event would act as a reinforcement of its strategies and investments for the analysts.

“As we continue to expand Telstra’s business into global markets it is important we tell our story to industry analysts both home and abroad," he said.

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Mr Thodey has long spoken of helping Australian businesses work in Asia. But at Telstra’s annual general meeting this week he specifically made the point that the same infrastructure could be used to win customers in other markets.

“Asia’s rise is creating opportunities for us to expand our footprint across Asia, and help Australian, European and American companies make the leap into Asian markets," he said. “That’s why we are making strategic investments across Asia, such as new data centres in Singapore."

As evidence of this push he highlighted major deals signed with the University of Nottingham and Braemar Shipping Services to provide them with telecommunications services in Asia.

It is also understood Telstra International group managing director and one-time board member Tim Chen will provide more detail about the company’s Network Applications and Services strategy for the Asian region.

Telstra’s NAS unit sells cloud computing products, which allow customers to use their software and email over the internet. JetStar and Fitness First are two major clients that are using the company’s services in Asia.

The NAS division enjoyed a 17.7 per cent increase in revenue to $1.49 billion for the year ending June 30, according to the company’s annual results.